It was supposed to be a close win for the pro-life movement. Polls showed a constitutional amendment overturning a 2019 state Supreme Court decision that legalized a specific abortion procedure winning 47%-43%.
Instead, it turned out to be a major loss. Kansas voters rejected the pro-life amendment by an 18-point margin.
What happened? There is no doubt that the millions of dollars poured into Kansas from out-of-state pro-abortion groups had an impact. But the “Value Them Both Coalition” pushing for the amendment had its own messaging problems. Advocates couldn’t seem to decide what they were actually for.
Throughout the campaign, the “yes” side kept insisting that a vote for the amendment was not a vote in favor of banning all abortion without exceptions. But then, key members of the coalition were caught on tape saying that is exactly what they were trying to accomplish. They even drafted legislation that would do exactly that. So, voters were left wondering what the “yes” side was really for. Were they just trying to overturn a specific state Supreme Court decision that kept one specific abortion procedure legal? Or were they seeking a much broader ban? It was never clear.
The reality is that a total ban on abortion from conception is extremely unpopular. If the pro-life movement pushes for total bans on abortion, it is going to lose a lot of elections.
On the other hand, 72% of the public supports restricting abortion after 15 weeks. If the pro-life movement wants to win elections, change policy, and save lives, then it needs to start there. In any event, it needs to coalesce behind clear and attainable goals. In each and every state, it needs to settle on specific legislation that a majority of voters will support.
